Soul Collector: Mastering Color Interactions Across MTG Colors

Soul Collector: Mastering Color Interactions Across MTG Colors

In TCG ·

Soul Collector card art: a dark, imposing vampire with piercing gaze and a shadowed backdrop

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

Mastering Color Interactions Across MTG Colors with Soul Collector

There’s something quietly delicious about a card that sits at the crossroads of color identity and clever design. Soul Collector, a Vampire mythic in the Time Spiral Timeshifted era, doesn't just ferry a big body to the battlefield—it invites you to choreograph how black mana can flirt with other colors through a morph-fueled surprise. For fans who relish the chess-game of color interactions, this {3}{B}{B} flyer is a lesson in timing, control, and the drama of the graveyard. 🧙‍♂️🔥

On the surface, Soul Collector is a sturdy 3/4 flying body for five mana, a respectable stat line for a card with a very particular trick. Its true power surfaces when you remember the line of text that makes it worth your attention: “Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, return that card to the battlefield under your control.” That is not just removal evidence; it’s a one-card, mid-to-late-game reanimation engine that can steal your opponent’s threats right out of the moment of their death. The flavor of vampiric predation is palpable, and the mechanic reads like a cinematic reversal—damage dealt by Soul Collector becomes a doorway to reclaiming ownership of a foe’s creature. ⚔️

Then there’s Morph, a savvy throwback that lets you play Soul Collector face down as a 2/2 for {3} and turn it face up for its morph cost of {B}{B}{B}. The fact that you can hide a powerful late-game threat behind a 2/2 decoy is a perfect mirror to the color dynamics at play. Black’s themes—sacrifice, reanimation, and graveyard leverage—align with the inevitability of facing down a morph-turned-flier that reveals a game-altering ability. The result is a tempo swing that can catch opponents off guard, especially in formats where the board state is a living mosaic of permanent answers. 🧙‍♂️

What makes Soul Collector so instructive is not just its raw power but its cross-color storytelling. Black’s strength in the graveyard and in stealing away opponents’ resources becomes even more potent when layered with other color philosophies. Blue could tilt this engine toward countermagic and card draw to fuel the morph reveal, while red might amplify the board presence with additional destruction or hasty threats that set up favorable trades. White brings resilience and removal sequencing, making sessions with Soul Collector feel like a collaborative dance among colors rather than a solo performance. In this sense, Soul Collector embodies the joy of MTG: color intersections that reward patient planning and precise execution. 🧩

From a strategy perspective, there are several ways to weave Soul Collector into a deck that respects its color identity while maximizing its unique resilience. First, consider the timing of the morph reveal. If you threaten a face-down 2/2 then flip it at a moment when your opponent’s board is fragile, you get a guaranteed creature return—often altering combat math in your favor. The “return that card to the battlefield under your control” clause makes this more than a one-for-one trade; it’s a potential reclaiming of a critical attacker or blocker, which can swing life totals in a single turn. This is especially potent in Commander or any format where repeated creature-based threats accumulate value across rounds. 🧠🎲

Secondly, you’ll want to steward the damage-dealing aspect of Souls Collector with care. The trigger requires that the damaged creature dies within the same turn, so your deck-building should account for ways to ensure lethal outcomes for marked targets. That might include buff effects, menace-dense attackers, or complementary combos that push a single removal into a surge of card-advantage or battlefield control. The result is a soul-tingling moment when your opponent realizes their key creature—perhaps a game-breaking finisher—returns to your side, effectively flipping the script of the entire encounter. 💎

In terms of rarity and value, Soul Collector sits in a special slot (special rarity) within Time Spiral Timeshifted, a reminder of MTG’s love for reprinting and reimagining classic mechanics. Its foil versions shine in a way that appeals to collectors who relish the tactile thrill of a well-used, iconic card. The piece’s lore—an undead predator who thrives on the life force and the drama of the battlefield—pairs beautifully with the black-black mana cost, reinforcing the sense that some of the best cards are those that turn expectations on their heads.🔥

Art and flavor threads also run deep here. Matthew D. Wilson’s illustration captures the nocturnal, predatory elegance of a creature that glides above the fray, a perfect visual companion to the card’s morph-and-steal playstyle. The artwork invites players to imagine a shadow-world where a vampire collector is not just hoarding souls but collecting memory—of battles won, creatures captured, and the grim satisfaction of turning a losing moment into a future victory. 🎨

“In the right moment, a single reveal can rewrite a whole board.”

Color conversations you can take to the table

  • Black efficiency paired with morph introduces a bluffy, tempo-savvy plan—reliable if you can keep a lid on the opponent’s threats while preparing the flip. 🧙‍♂️
  • Cross-color synergies invite bold play: blue for draw and disruption, red for aggression, white for protection—each angle reveals different routes to maximize Soul Collector’s return-from-death ability. ⚔️
  • Graveyard interaction becomes a resource, not a liability. In formats where recursion tools are common, Soul Collector turns your opponent’s own fallen threats into yours with a swift, silent whisper from the shadows. ⚰️

As you plan your next deck night or weekend tournament, consider how a single card can illuminate the complexities of color interaction. Soul Collector is more than a niche airdrop from a vintage-era set; it’s a compact study in how black can leverage the ambitions of other colors without losing its own sinister identity. For fans who savor nostalgia blended with modern playstyle experimentation, it’s a welcome invitation to experiment, fearlessly test timelines, and celebrate the quirks that make MTG’s multicolor world feel endless. 🧙‍♂️💎

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Soul Collector

Soul Collector

{3}{B}{B}
Creature — Vampire

Flying

Whenever a creature dealt damage by this creature this turn dies, return that card to the battlefield under your control.

Morph {B}{B}{B} (You may cast this card face down as a 2/2 creature for {3}. Turn it face up any time for its morph cost.)

ID: 5c0848dc-dd4c-48d0-a22f-bd1fba070b21

Oracle ID: 7b7b3a34-13ff-45d4-ad0d-ac4bad9d0581

Multiverse IDs: 106644

TCGPlayer ID: 14642

Cardmarket ID: 14143

Colors: B

Color Identity: B

Keywords: Flying, Morph

Rarity: Special

Released: 2006-10-06

Artist: Matthew D. Wilson

Frame: 1997

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 19764

Penny Rank: 15166

Set: Time Spiral Timeshifted (tsb)

Collector #: 47

Legalities

  • Standard — not_legal
  • Future — not_legal
  • Historic — not_legal
  • Timeless — not_legal
  • Gladiator — not_legal
  • Pioneer — not_legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — not_legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — not_legal
  • Brawl — not_legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — not_legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — legal
  • Predh — legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.44
  • USD_FOIL: 4.99
  • EUR: 0.43
  • EUR_FOIL: 1.04
  • TIX: 0.02
Last updated: 2025-11-16